Conservation Adventures at the Zoo

Thursday, July 31, 2014

The first post of my blog was asking why conserve? And why care about those species that are endangered? I know I have no PhD or have much experience in all of the areas I talked about, but I do hope that in what was said, it sparked a small fire of passion in you.
What I learned through my internship is that it's not just OUR world, it's also theirs (as in non-human animals). The rate at which our society and culture is going, we will continue to see a decline of such beautiful and majestic creatures and it will be our generation or maybe our kids who are to blame for their extinction. Now I don't know about you, but I don't want to just tell a story to my great grand children about how elephants once roamed the earth...I want them to be able to see them still, to form their own connection with this animal!
Although my internship has ended, I will not stop learning to conserve or how to help. It is my goal to someday work directly or indirectly with animals and help educate the public on their status in the wild.

“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.” -Theodore Roosevelt

The Golden Frog is a terrestrial species that resides in tropical montane forests while their breeding and larval development takes place in forest streams. The Golden Frog is native to Panama and was put on the critical endangered species list in 2004. Several factors are responsible for the declining population such as deforestation, water pollution, and over collection for the pet trade. But the major threat that has the greatest impact on their population is chytridiomycosis, which is commonly known as chytrid fungus. Chris, the head of the zoos herpetology department, doesn't conduct research on them particularly, he primarily takes descriptive survey's on their population such as the location where they were found, how many in the population, if they are adults or juveniles, etc. He focused his surveying on only four sites although there are potentially more sites in Panama where they can be found. The cause of chytrid is in amphibians is still undeclared and that poses a challenge in conserving this species.

This species is just one of many other endangered animals that remains in the wild that the zoo partners with and plays a role in helping to conserve and protect.

We took a trip down to the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, a non-profit organization in Lake Jackson, Texas. The organization serves as a critical stopover habitat for multiple migratory species that range from humming birds, to cardinals, to Carolina wrens and many more. The estimated number of land bird species at the facility is about 296 birds. Ornithologists have known that the coastal Gulf of Mexico is crucial for migratory birds, specifically neartic-neotropical birds. However, due to a lack of understanding of migratory birds, past conservationists across the U.S. focused on the loss of breeding habitat, or threats on wintering grounds, never on migration. Therefore the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory is dedicated to studying the conservation of birds and their habitats in and around the Gulf. The program has acquires property that they wish to restore to a condition that renders it suitable for migratory birds.

When we arrived, the facility had two permitted workers, Robert and Kay Lookingbill, banding birds that were caught in bird trapping nets set up in various locations around the property. This process, just like the toad tracking, was particularly interesting to me because the information that was gathered (weight, wing length, male/female, body fat) is used for numerous projects and research. All of the data is inputted into a general data system by an individual with a permit and can be accessed by permit holders and non-permit holders. This system is of value because it makes recovery of past data very accessible especially for migratory birds. The highlight of this day was being able to witness the tagging of a yellow crowned night heron because this was the facilities first band on this species. , Kay stated the process for getting permitted to band birds is difficult and that an individual would have to take countless classes and learn the techniques and tools as well as be able to identity all of the bird species within a particular ecosystem. After that, they would have to take a test to receive their permit that is valid for 2 years at a time. To re-apply, a bird bander has to write a report that shows accurate and organized record keeping of jobs done in the past.

Once the permit was received, they would have to work alongside an experienced bander until they proved that they could band the bird properly, without hurting them as well as keep detailed and accurate record keeping of each bird that was caught. Robert and Kay received their first permit in 2002 and have just started practicing private bird banding about 4 or 5 years ago. Thus, if an individual wished to tag birds, Robert and Kay suggested that they have the time to learn and the commitment to stick with it, because it takes years of experience to be able to receive a permit to band without an instructor.

Toad tracking was an alternative activity that we participated in around the zoo this week and was without a doubt, the highlight of my week A few zookeepers from the herpetology department that specifically work with the Houston Toads taught us how they track and record toads in the wild for research, surveys, and record keeping. This particularly interested me because I have never tracked any type of animal before. The things that we recorded were its body length, head width, weight, where it was found, and if there were any abnormalities. Due to us tracking these toads so early in the night, before dusk, the zookeepers and some of their interns placed twenty-two fake rubber toads around the zoo for the Collegiate Conservation Program interns to track. Although they weren't real, we were still required to follow the same protocol as if they were real toads. The herpetology interns hid them in locations where one would expect them to found in the wild i.e. near the reflection pond, behind rocks, partially buried in soil, etc. This mock experience was worth it. It gave us insight on what we would expect to do in the field. They were all difficult to find, they differed in size and color, and not all of them were found. Dusk fell and we were out for about an hour and a half and didn't encounter a real toad until we were headed back to the conference room where we saw a Gulf Coast Toad. Although the Gulf Coast Toad is not an endangered species, the Houston Toad is and it is important perfect toad tracking, specifically with this species. The chips that the Houston Zoo toad staff and the researchers at Texas State University use often fall out when the toad disposes of their waste or molt which pose great difficulties when trying to track the toads. A method that was used in the past was to clip their toes to signify a specific number. However, removing some of their digits has been frowned upon and some research articles have suggested that it negatively impacts their well being and leads to shorter life spans than if they had all their digits. I didn't go into detail about the conservation of the Houston Toad, but it should go without saying that this species is endangered due to the loss of their habitat and a disease that causes them to essentially suffocate causing their death. To learn more, here are a few links to interesting and informative sites:Houston ZooTexas Parks & WildlifeBiodiversity Works

Weighing and measuring plastic frogs

Difficult to see, but the only real toad of the night, caught by yours truly.

It's a Gulf Coast Toad. Sorry for the poor quality!

We had to wear plastic gloves while handling real toads. If we had found more real toads, we would have to change them each time we encountered a new one to reduce the chances of spreading disease.